> Oh, yes, O'Neil -- any discussion of noir comics has to include his
> fabulous run on 'The Question' -- the Steve Ditko-created character
> who was also the template for Rorschach in Alan Moore's 'Watchmen.'
> (I believe the two series actually came out concurrently with each
> other). O'Neil's Vic Sage is the only honest man in nightmarishly-
> corrupt Hub City (it makes Gotham look like a walk in the park); he's
> also a total apologetic son of a bitch, yet oddly charming -- and very
> moral -- all of which makes a great read.

> Have you read Rucka lately? I don't know about his early run on
> Batman, but his first issue would have been 8 or 9 years ago, and he's
> been working steadily since. He's done some Batman stories that are
> considered among the best contemporary work, and also collaborated
> with Brubaker on 'Gotham Central,' a series about Gotham cops, which
> is more police procedural than noir -- and would really be a great
> recommendation for anybody who enjoyed the law enforcement aspects
of TDK.

I've unfortunately been driven from Batman (and most of DC) by the
editorial staff, the insistence on group-plotted projects, and a
bewildering foot-dragging tendency to stay mired in 1994's marketing
plan.

When the Brubaker stuff hits collected form, I'll give it a look. I
like his take on stuff. But I really, really don't like what Rucka has
done with Batman. Just my personal tastes, I suppose.

> And Ed Brubaker -- he manages to give just about everything he writes
> a flavor of noir, including Captain America. I'm not at all surprised
> about the Parker adaptation news, as the Richard Stark series and its
> various adaptations seem to be close to holy writ for a lot of people
> working in comics today. One of Brubaker's earliest superhero books
> was called 'Point Blank' and homaged (stole?) the structure and
> elements of the premise from that film adaptation of 'The Hunter.'

That Cap story he did was bloody brilliant. Yeah, Brubaker has the
chops. His stuff has guts, which is a nice change of pace from what we
are usually served.